Theatre / Space Jam
An ‘unofficial’ musical parody of Space Jam is coming to Bristol
“It’s Saturday morning. You’re eight years old. You’ve come downstairs to watch cartoons, and you’re sitting in front of a giant TV.”
That’s the experience that Luc Ashton-Tucker, Space Jam (The Unofficial Parody) The Musical’s director, wants to give the audience.
The musical was born above Sparks, in a shared office called Tab Hub. Luc confessed: “It was almost a bit of an inside joke, until the start of 2024 when we got to show off a bit of the show at a scratch night at Bristol Old Vic.
is needed now More than ever
“Actually, we made up almost everything we showed at that scratch night for the scratch night.”
The parody musical of Warner Bros’s 1997 film Space Jam follows the story of fictional NBA Legend Baikal Gordon and his publicist Sam Cadullaque, who team up with a cast of cartoon characters to defeat an alien threat.
So, how do you go about creating live cartoon-characters who can interact with on-stage actors in real time, for a live audience? The answer is, massive creative collaboration.
Luc and his brother Ellis make up two halves of the recently-established River Kite theatre company.
They both recruited artists from across Bristol, including Jenny Brock whom Luc refers to as a “driving force”, saying that the artist worked on the dramatic side, including backgrounds and animations.
He continued: “Ross Munro has done more authentic, rubber-hosy looking cartoons. The show has both flavours in there.
“The biggest thing is making sure everyone’s work is distinct, and that everyone has their moment to shine.”
One of the settings from the musical is ‘Toon Forest’, an animated version of which has been released the show’s first tease
Dr James Bragg is the show’s projection mapper, and helped design the show. He guided Luc and Ellis on how to logistically present both cartoons and live-action on stage.
Luc let Bristol24/7 in on the magic behind such a unique style of theatre. He explained: “It’s a rear projection screen, effectively inside a custom-made gazebo, which forms a giant television.”
The gazebo is made completely from recycled materials, and was built from the ground up to be part of the show.
“So what you see in the audience isn’t a screen. You’re sitting in front of a giant TV that explodes and comes to life as people start to spill out of the sides.”
Luc’s coach, Edalia Day, pioneered a lot of the techniques used. Luc said: “Everything you see in the show has been pioneered by someone else, but I don’t think you will have ever seen these elements together.”
River Kite’s stamp is the way they combine artistic elements to sell an illusion.
Luc said: “We have a couple of elements which are hopefully going to make it a bit more immersive. The experience fills out into the audience and also bc past what you believe to be the border of the stage.”
The show also features a choir ensemble of Bristol-based singers.
Luc emphasised: “The overwhelming majority of the show’s construction, writing process, development, then re-writing music, visuals and set design, it’s all been Bristolian.”
Ellis has been a musician working in and around Bristol for six years, and notes how the city is the perfect place to grow a show like this. “With such a blend of history, passion and the great Bristolian sense of humour I don’t think there’s anywhere we’d rather be starting out.”
Actor Oliver Robinson-Sivyer plays the role of Bags, among other characters, and has helped to coach other voice-actors starring in the show.
Having recorded his parts in June last year, Oliver said: “The only thing I’ve got left to do is present opening night. That will consist of me saying hello, welcome, and then sitting down and getting to watch everything unfold.
“I think I’ve technically got the best job in the whole musical.”
The show is a non-profit endeavour, however Luc hopes that Space Jam will give River Kite the opportunity to secure a project in the future where they will get to “let loose, take the training wheels off”, and really show what they can do.
Luc said: “If you want to come and see the show, please go and buy a copy of the original film first – it will make the show so much better.”
“I want you to feel, ultimately, like you’re a kid and you’ve just sat down on a Saturday morning and you’ve watched your favourite cartoons for an hour and a half. I want to bring people back to that experience, with a show that’s a lot more modern and inspired by what’s currently on offer.”
Space Jam (The Unofficial Parody) The Musical will be playing at the Loco Klub from October 9-10.
All photos: Luc Ashton Tucker
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
